We will have to agree to disagree on the issue of whether there is a relationship between political correctness and unthinking ideology. But unthinking ideology has everything to do with the accusation of “insidious” “shill” which was raised against me.

Certainly most of the sympathy for the Eisenhower family is earnest and well meaning. But I merely, and respectfully, took another view.

51
posted on 02/07/2012 11:00:04 PM PST
by newheart
(What this country needs is a good dose of bran. Attack Muffins Unite!)

Here’s the time and tide:
Ideologies are segregating philosophies. They enable us to put ourselves on the right side of a conflict and others on the wrong side. Once we establish that division those on the other side are no longer worthy of respect and so, insults like insidious shill are perfectly acceptable. That was my objection. Political correctness is a symptom of the same illness. Dehumanize those who disagree with you and you can treat them in any way you like, with impunity.

I am not advocating a facile inclusiveness, but I am arguing for some modicum of respect for those with whom we disagree. Especially in the context of a forum like FR, where we probably have more in common with the rest of the participants than we do with anyone on the left. Yet the slightest variation from some unwritten value results in ridiculous name-calling. And what is political correctness other than the demand that there be no deviation from the party line?

To be sure, I am not saying that you are guilty of this problem in any way. You disagree with respect and your arguments rise way above name-calling.

54
posted on 02/07/2012 11:25:46 PM PST
by newheart
(What this country needs is a good dose of bran. Attack Muffins Unite!)

I only learned recently that General "Black Jack" Pershing out ranks all nine of the Five Star ranks.

As there was no prescribed insignia for this rank, General of the Armies of the United States, General Pershing chose the four stars of a full general, except in gold. The rank has been argued to be equivalent to "6-star" general, as the insignia of the next lowest rank "General of the Army" is designated by five stars. According to the biography Until the Last Trumpet Sounds by Gene Smith, Pershing never wore the rank on his uniform.

Then in 1976, Congress posthumously appointed General Washington to the grade of General of the Armies to out rank them all.

55
posted on 02/07/2012 11:30:17 PM PST
by higgmeister
( In the Shadow of The Big Chicken!)

Eisenhower understood war. He loathed violence for its own sake, but knew how and when to apply force. If Ike had been President after 1960, there would have been no dictatorship in Cuba,nor missle crisis no war in Southeast Asia.

I invite everyone to visit his farm. I got a viseral sense of what the man was like from my visit. Also read his wartime papers. He was no intellectual but he had a firm gasp of first principles. A great planner. It is said that during the Lebanon crisis, he directed the whole thing from the Oval office. A massive concentration of naval and air power, and all the public knew about it was a few marines splashing ashore in Lebanon.

FDR wanted those promotions so that the American commanders would have rank equal to their British counterparts, in order to prevent a character like Montgomery from refusing to obey someone like Eisenhower.

A tot version of the "messiah" surrounded by what appear to be frangipani bushes...LOL.

They are a very fragrant flowering shrub or small tree which in Asia is planted around sacred temples. How appropriate. On the other hand, a relative used to grow those things down here in the south. We could never remember the word "frangipani" so we called them d__k trees because that's what their thick stubby branches look like when the frost has zapped off the leaves. Fits Obama, too.

On the other hand, a relative used to grow those things down here in the south. We could never remember the word "frangipani" so we called them d__k trees because that's what their thick stubby branches look like when the frost has zapped off the leaves.

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